Bill Bates may have been a longshot to make the Cowboys roster as an UDFA, but through sheer hard work and determination he fought his way onto the roster for 15 consecutive seasons.
There was nothing special about Bill Bates that made NFL scouts think that he was the type of football player who would hang around the National Football League for a decade and a half. In fact, only the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks had any interest in the player at all. The only one who thought Bates would have any sort of future in football was Bates himself and there were times that he had his doubts.